Canada timelines for pipelines could be shorter -govt

By Andrea Hopkins
KANANASKIS, Alberta, April 25 (Reuters) - Canada's approval
process for pipelines to export crude from the landlocked
province of Alberta to the coast could be shorter, Natural
Resources Minister Jim Carr said on Monday, in response to
pressure to help get the region's oil to market.
New interim rules for environmental reviews announced by the
Liberal government in January imposed delays on two projects -
TransCanada Corp 's TRP.TO Energy East pipeline and Kinder
Morgan Inc's KMI.N expansion of its Trans Mountain Pipeline.
While the deadlines represent the longest estimated time for
approval, the process could be shorter, Carr told reporters as
he headed into a cabinet meeting in Alberta.
Ottawa has been under pressure to approve pipeline projects
that would carry oil from Alberta to Canada's east and west
coasts since U.S. President Barack Obama last year blocked the
cross-border Keystone XL crude pipeline. Trudeau has said
environmental concerns must be considered.
In January, Ottawa toughened environmental reviews on the
grounds that public trust needed to be restored in the process
for assessing big energy projects, but the prolonged slump in
oil prices has hobbled Alberta's economy.
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley appealed to Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau and his cabinet on Sunday to support efficient
ways to get oil to market. L2N17S03E
Carr reiterated that the deadline for the government to
decide on Trans Mountain is December 2016, while the process for
Energy East had not even begun.
"The regulator hasn't even seen the application yet," he
told reporters. "So as soon as that happens then the clock
begins to tick, and there will be 21 months for the National
Energy Board to review, then an additional six months for the
governor in council. So 27 months after that ... will be the
latest at which the government will decide."
Carr and Transport Minister Marc Garneau also discussed
Enbridge Inc's ENB.TO proposed Northern Gateway pipeline,
which would carry Alberta oil sands crude to a deepwater port at
Kitimat, British Columbia for export to Asian markets.
Environmentalists and Aboriginal groups fear the project
would hasten the development of Canada's oil sands and
exacerbate climate change.
After coming to power last year, the Liberals imposed a
moratorium on oil tanker traffic along the northern coast of
British Columbia, a move seen killing the project's chances.
Asked if Northern Gateway could be revived if the terminus
was moved from Kitimat, Carr said: "If there are differences, if
there are changes, other requests, then presumably the National
Energy Board will deal with it."